The Paths We Tread
by LumosElm
Summary: Working on redoing this at some point. Sorry for the inconvenience. Keep an eye out for a more in-depth, better written story some time in the future.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Before we get started on this next story, I have to do a disclaimer. I do not own Aliens or Predator. I only own my OCs and the story that I create.

To those who followed my previous story, this one is already twice it's size at 1172 words! WOO!

Ahem... carrying on. Be sure to leave reviews, or follow/favorite, or even be a regular anon! It makes me happy when I see people reading and enjoying what I write ^-^

Without further adieu, onto Allison's (Alice for short) story!

* * *

Alice sighed quietly as she stared out of her cage, one arm wrapped partially around her legs to retain some form of coverage. It was unbelievably hot, and there was a thick haze over this section of the 'exotic' pet area. The young woman ignored most of the sounds- particularly the sounds of other humans- and tried her best to cool off in the shade that the tarp provided. It wasn't like she could take off any more layers; the predators stripped her of everything when she got placed on the market.

In the beginning, they tried to throw her in with a bunch of guys… it didn't end well for the guys. After a few more failed attempts (they really should've just put her with the other girls) they eventually gave her a little prison of her own. Not the best situation either way, but better than before.

It didn't take long for Alice to figure out why they kept throwing her in with males - they intended on breeding her. When she connected the dots, (she didn't have her own cage by this point), she fought even harder. Now a hop, jump, and a skip later, here she is.

A loud banging jolted her from her thoughts, and she directed an irritated glare up at the keeper of this section. The peg-legged pred offered his own version of a sneer down at her before directing his attention to what appeared to be a buyer. Alice offered one of her own as well, lifting her lip to bare her teeth. She found it was the easiest way to tell someone to fuck off.

He was a nasty baby shit yellow, with varying shades of shitty yellow across his arms, face, and stomach. His eyes were pretty nasty too, and not in a good way. They too were a gross yellow. Everything about him was shitty yellow.

He was in charge of one of the many shop stands in the bazaar area that offered 'pets' to the general population of this hot, humid planet. Loud sounds of creatures calling out, and the clicking, roaring, and growling language of the preds filled her ears.

Alice watched a female pred, dressed in simple but elaborate armor, speak to pegleg. She ignored their conversation for the most part until something less than ideal happened. Her stomach sank with a sense of dread when the amazonian gestured towards her cage, and transfer over a large amount of currency.

* * *

 _He'stbi strode through the bazaar with her head held high, her eyes searching the various stands and what the sellers were trying to swindle. She was to find a healthy specimen for a live experiment and study. Bakuub already had his ooman, picked up as a suckling and raised to adulthood on the warrior code. That was the first part, and finished with exceptional results. Now, to find a feral ooman and see if it could adapt to conform with the other of its' species, or if the trained one would change for the newcomer. This was a very controversial experiment, since it was taking pyode-amedha and teaching them the ways of the Yautja. Many hunters wished to deem the scientists, and He'stbi, as Bad Bloods. Criminals. Only the higher ranking Yautja of the society were aware of what they were doing, but rumors still spread and suspicions grew._

 _He'stbi approached a stand that had a crippled yautja manning it. She barely withheld a growl. He was a coward, a disgrace. Instead of dying with honor, he fled. Cadteb. A specialist in obtaining oomans, be it through legal terms or not. She lifted a mandible in disgust at his purr._

" _ **Cut the flattery. I'm here for an ooman, and you have some."**_ _She snapped. His purr cut off, and was instead replaced with a quiet growl._

" _ **Of course."**_ _He rumbled out, his voice harsh and unpleasant._ " _ **What is it you're looking for? I have males, females, and ones carrying sucklings."**_ _He waved a hand at each as he spoke, making the ones behind the bars shrink away on the far ends of the cages. Just He'stbi standing there made them reek with fear. She lifted her chin to tell him that none of the creatures were worth it when she spotted one tucked away behind the table. The metal rings on her dreads clinked together as she tilted her head._

" _ **What of that one?"**_ _She watched as Cabteb looked down at the cage and smack it harshly, startling the ooman inside. However, instead of crying out and backing into a corner out of fear, the ooman instead directed its' own version of a glare at Cabteb and even bared its' teeth. Interesting... He sneered down at the confrontational female before redirecting his attention to He'stbi._

" _ **This one? She's too feral! Extremely violent, flighty, and albino to boot. She's an abomination. We tried to breed her to some of the males, but she mauled each of them."**_ _Cabteb sneered out, confident he would convince He'stbi to buy a different one. However, she clicked her mandibles in regard to the feisty ooman. She waved her hand at the cage, almost dismissively, and reached over to her wrist gauntlet. The red letters flashed a confirmation of the transaction, then the letters were replaced with numbers._

 _He'stbi trilled at Cabteb's reaction, his mandibles hanging loose and his nasty eyes wide at the amount of credits. Her dreads' rings clicked once more as she shifted her weight to one hip, and placed a hand on the other. "_ _ **Is there a certain way you go about the next part? If she is truly as feral as you claim, the usual means of transportation will not work."**_ _She once again regarded her new 'pet'. Pet wasn't really the proper term, but it's what she had technically bought. Cabteb shook himself from his shock - much to He'stbi's amusement and disgust- and he reached down next to him to procure a strange looking metal stick._

" _ **For this ooman I have a special tool I've just been waiting to try…"**_ _He chuckled darkly and promptly jabbed the needle into the albino ooman's shoulder. This time, he did get a vocal reaction as the female reached to where he jabbed her. The albino spewed curses at him, quite eloquently to He'stbi's surprise, before swaying and collapsing to the bottom of her cage._

 _He'stbi opened the cage and wrapped the ooman up in one of the spare swaths of fabric Cabteb had laying around, and hoisted the female up under one arm. She directed a glare at Cabteb, who merely shrugged and leaned back in his seat with his mandibles lifted in a twisted smirk._

 _He'stbi swiftly strode away from the vile male and proceeded to make her way back to the lab. Now, the fun part. Otherwise known as 'listen to the ooman scream and curse for days on end'. The tall hunter let out a quiet sigh. The next several days were going to be rather long..._


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you to those who followed/favorited this story, and the one guest who commented. I seriously appreciate it, and it has prompted me to continue on with the next chapter. Which is, by the way, almost 2 THOUSAND WORDS LONG! WOO! I'm making this up as I go along, and most of my characters are thrown together on the spot.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Predator or anything in the AVP universe. Just my OCs (which is pretty much every character mentioned lol) and the situations that occur. Sorry if this resembles your own story, but I can promise that I haven't read anything like this so far. Which is why I'm posting it

Now, onto the story! Don't worry, Alice will get her chance to shine in the next chapter.

* * *

 _He'stbi strode into the lab and deposited the ooman onto one of the few high, dark metal tables._

" _ **Greetings, Honored warrior. This is the ooman you picked?"**_ _A small male, easily two heads smaller than her, bowed his head in respect, then approached and began to poke and prod at Alice's unconscious form. He was a dull brown color with faint stripes running along his arms, legs, and sides of his ribs. He was intelligent, but smaller than average, and had bright yellow eyes that constantly scanned and observed. His dreads were shoulder length, and adorned with simple rings - ones that showed he was a blooded warrior, and ones that showed his rank as healer and scientist._

 _Guan-Thwei. A young scientist with potential to become honored through his advancements in their medical technology. However, this little… experiment had the high chance of ruining him. And any involved. They had to tread carefully._

 _He tilted his head at the ooman after he uncovered her, lifting limp arms and feeling along her spine. Guan-Thwei looked in He'stbi's direction without taking his attention off of the ooman._

" _ **Where exactly did you get this ooman?"**_ _He rumbled out goodnaturedly. Another of his talents that were useless in battle. He could get anyone to talk without being obvious about it. Little questions here and there, nothing obvious but not too pointless; he'd get ignored otherwise._

 _He'stbi knew Guan-Thwei and his 'talents', he was her nephew after all, and merely lifted her chin in response as she shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms._

" _ **Cabteb."**_ _She said,_ " _ **He tried to convince me not to buy it, said it was too feral."**_ _She inclined her head towards the ooman as she continued._ " _ **But I believe your instructions were 'feral over the ones that are bred to fear us.'"**_

 _Guan-Thwei snorted at his Aunt's answer, muttering something along the lines of 'no good Bad Blood' as he jabbed instructions into his wrist gauntlet and sending a message to Bakuub. The platform, as He'stbi soon realized, was lifted and covered in a forcefield type barrier that projected the ooman's skeletal and body structure. Danger areas lit up, ones that could and probably would endanger it's- her- life, and Guan-Thwei swiftly began his work._

 _He'stbi leaned up against one of the walls and watched patiently, ignoring when Bakuub sidled up next to her casually._

" _ **That your ooman?"**_ _He asked in a stage whisper, his crimson eyes observing as Guan-Thwei worked on the small ooman. Bakuub was… well, he was different. He followed their codes, never straying a single time, but he had eccentric ideas. Ideas that led him to taking in an ooman suckling when he found its 'colony' destroyed and overrun by hard meats. He had a laid back attitude of 'whatever' to everything, and greets everyone in an overly casual manner. The source of many of his injuries._

 _He had dreads that reached the ends of his shoulder blades, which were pretty decorated with bones and rank rings. His armor was basic. The fishnet, codpiece, and various other pieces of armor were present. However, he had little bones and skulls all over his figure, primarily in the form of necklaces and charms around his belt. He was shorter than He'stbi - as was natural - and had a sandy coloring, much like that of a lion but a few shades darker. He had an odd mix of speckles and stripes that turned in on his body to a lighter stomach area. Of course, like all hunters, he had many scars. One in particular always stuck out; a jagged, old scar that started on the left side of his neck, under the protective collar they all wore, and ended at the edge of his left hip. Two smaller, but no less severe scars joined it mid way across his body. He never spoke of what caused them._

 _His eyes were a startling similar shade to the blood oomans shed. Despite the intimidating eye color, scars, and rank, Bakuub wanted nothing more than to just go nap and drink. Maybe poke his ooman to get a rise out of the smaller male._

" _ **Yes and no, that is the ooman I was tasked with getting. Guan-Thwei already has it - her - listed as mine."**_ _He'stbi said with a growl in her Nephew's direction. She noticed the notice her wrist gauntlet provided, as well as the healer's quiet trills, and she was less than amused._

 _Bakuub however, found it utterly hilarious that THE He'stbi, Slayer of Queens and male propositioning, was burdened with an ooman. She growled lowly and lifted a mandible as her, as much as it pained her to say it,_ cousin _doubled over at her well hidden misery and disdain. He knew full well that she had a mild tolerance for the pyode amedha, and reveled in this chance to poke her. Not now, he liked living and all that jazz, but later he would poke and prod._

" _ **Don't worry, they don't yell; much."**_ _Bakuub managed to choke out_ _as he patted her 'reassuringly' on the shoulder._

 _Apparently, He'stbi wasn't the only one irritated at Bakuub's laughter. Proven by a stray medical tool -she couldn't name it if she tried - that flew by Bakuub's head and bounced off the metal wall with a resounding 'CLANK'. Bakuub, in all of his blundering, laughing glory, managed to quickly leave the medbay. Not before another random, and hopefully sturdy, piece of medical equipment went flying and bounced off of Bakuub's head._

* * *

 _After a few more hours of waiting - Guan wouldn't let her leave until he was done checking 'her ooman' - he finally stepped back and clicked his mandibles with satisfaction. He looked over to his Aunt and waved her over to go over the proper care and maintenance of the ooman._

" _ **She needs nourishment. Cabteb,"**_ _He growled out, not because he cared for the ooman personally, but because the male was genuinely a foul creature._ " _ **Seems to forget to feed the stock he is selling."**_ _At least the yautja who dealt with yaut hounds fed them properly._

 _Guan-Thwei's attitude changed and he trilled in excitement. Another thing He'stbi never got used to with her Nephew._

" _ **Luckily for us, she doesn't seem to be from the stock that Cabteb breeds; he caught this one. She's completely and utterly feral, and will give us a really hard time when she wakes up. I'll have to remember to block any and all ways into the walls and ventilations shafts, and make sure she doesn't see any of us leaving a room. Oomans are rather intelligent, I don't doubt that she would easily figure out how to escape if we let her observe the exits and patterns for too long."**_ _He rattled on quickly, going around and gathering up a couple supplements for He'stbi to put into anything the ooman's food/drinks until she looked less skeletal._

" _ **Oomans are also rather finicky about being covered, so you might want to talk about clothing for her with Bakuub, he's more versed in ooman care than I. Oh! They also can't eat most of what we can, so again, consult Bakuub for advice on that if you don't want to accidentally poison her."**_ _He stated simply with a cheery lift of his mandibles at the blank, and rather irked stare she was giving him._

" _ **This is a lot more than you mentioned. What about housing? I'm not going to keep an ooman on my ship."**_ _He'stbi finally asked, her low but feminine voice grated out in obvious irritation. Unfortunately for her, it only made Guan-Thwei's grin grow wider. It was almost like he was hoping she would ask._

" _ **You forget! The ooman will be staying here so I can monitor her healing and make sure she's within healing range if you**_ **DO** _**end up poisoning her by mistake."**_ _He trilled with excitement, and she growled in annoyance._

 _His excited rambling, she tuned him out at some point since he was speaking with terms understood only by scientists and healers, was cut off by a loud shout and 'THUD'. Both Yautja directed their attention to the now barren medical table, and wide open door that was just sliding shut. He'stbi closed her eyes and sighed while Guan-Thwei stood stock still. His mandibles were slack from shock. How could he have forgotten to give her another sedative, and lock the door?! The male quickly followed, having to drag He'stbi along with the excuse that since the ooman was now technically hers, she had to get used to catching it._

 _The huntress paused, completely halting her Nephew's attempts to get her to move, and rattled quietly." _ **Isn't Bakuub over there with his ooman?"**__

 _A_ _look of realization crossed his young face at his Aunt's words, and he quickly contacted Bakuub as they followed after the ooman. Boy, was he glad that no one was in this sector. It would be hard to explain why an ooman was running loose..._

 _ **"Bakuub, the ooman escaped and she's heading in your direction."**_ _Guan-Thwei said quickly. He waited impatiently for Bakuub's response as he stooped over to check in a spot an ooman could easily fit; all the while his Aunt looked highly unamused and bored._

 _There was a long pause on the other end before the other hunter finally spoke, disbelief heavy in his voice._

" _ **...You lost an ooman? That was in the same room as you and He'stbi, sedated, and from what those scans showed, extremely weak."**_

" _ **... Never mention this to anyone."**_ _Guan-Thwei said quietly, his voice laced with a growl and an underlying tone of dread. Bakuub would never let him live this down._

" _ **Don't worry, I wo- Oh, CJIT! The ooman just ran by."**_ _The line ended suddenly as Bakuub chased after the ooman. His cursing, and her own primitive version as well, led the duo to one of the halls. Just in time to witness her giving Bakuub the slip, and colliding with Kv'var - Bakuub's ooman - who stepped into the hall to see why his mentor was yelling so loudly. Unfortunately for him, he was decked out in the standard armor and a modified mask. Probably more painful to the feral ooman, but he resembled a small yautja and as they went tumbling, she reacted by shouting obscenities in her native tongue while she kicked and tried to hit the looks-like-a-Yautja ooman._

 _Bakuub watched the collision happen with wide eyes and slack mandibles._

" _ **Oh, pauk… This is bad."**_

* * *

AN: Oh look, another author's note! This isn't the greatest, but it'll do. I feel like I kinda rushed it a bit, but I'm not sure. Either way, thanks for reading! Drop a comment if you have ideas/suggestions, I'll happily read them! ^_^


	3. Well shit guys

This isn't a story update, though, I wish it were. I'm glad that some of you enjoyed this story, but I can't continue it. I lost all of my plans for it, and the muse is just. Gone. Life got seriously busy for me, and the time and drive to write chapters for this is gone. The Paths We Tread needs a serious revamp, some in-depth backstory, and a better plot than what I had going.

I'm not at all leaving these characters behind, you'll see them again at some point, but things will be different. Very much so. Allison will have a big overhaul for sure.

If any of you are interested in what I'm planning, send a PM my way and I'll gladly talk about it with you! Or if you have any ideas that you'd like to see in a story!


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